


We Were Orphans Before

by Redrikki



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Ultimate Universe, Spider-Man (Ultimateverse)
Genre: Clones, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-06 02:36:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5399672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrikki/pseuds/Redrikki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Jessica ran into Peter after the Wave she grabbed him into a hug.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Were Orphans Before

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ariad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariad/gifts).



The first time Jessica ran into Peter after the Wave she grabbed him into a hug the second the bad guys were down. “I’m so glad you’re alive!” she said as she attempted to squeeze the spider-stuffing out of him. Jessica had started to resent him more than a little during her first month of squatting in abandoned buildings and eating from some of the finest dumpsters in Manhattan. Going it alone had been her choice, but the memory of her bed and the thought of him in it while she slept on a pile of rags had made her want to scream. All that anger had been washed away though by the sight of his tattered mask in a pile of mud and debris. In the end, she'd sent Kitty back to Queens to deliver the bad news alone. The specter of Aunt May’s grief had been too much for Jessica to handle, especially when some dark, sick part of her was itching to simply step into Peter's recently vacated life. Thank god it had been a false alarm. "Thank god!" 

“I’m glad I’m alive too,” Peter quipped on autopilot. After a moment’s hesitation he brought his arms up to hug her back. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, awkwardly patting her hair.

“Aw,” said one of the purse-snatching creeps stuck to the wall, “that's so sweet. Now kiss.” The dual blasts of webbing to his face was probably overkill, but damn if it wasn’t satisfying.

“So…,” Peter drawled, rubbing the back of his neck. He was taller than Jessica now. Maybe he’d always been that tall and she’d just forgotten. Maybe he was growing up. “Pizza?” he offered. “My treat.” 

*****

They ate up on a roof with their masks off and tried not to stare at each other. Jessica let her gaze wander over the slowly recovering city as she watched her twin from the corner of her eye. What did he see when he looked at her? All the ways they were the same or they ways they differed? His face was exactly like Jessica thought her reflection should be every time she looked in a mirror but never was. Except the version in her head had a better haircut and knew how to shave. Seriously, what was with all the peach fuzz? Uncle Ben had taught them better than that. Man, this clone thing was so weird.

“Man, this is so weird,” said Peter. “It’s like a—”

“—Fun house mirror,” they chorused. Jessica's own surprise and annoyance flitted across Peter’s face. God, it was like they were some kind of freaky hive-mind. Talk about disconcerting. It was so much easier to pretend she was a real person when she wasn’t face-to-face with the one she been copied from. 

It must been even worse for him because Peter looked away first. He tore off a bit of crust and tossed it towards the small squadron of pigeons which had assembled to watch them eat. Now there was something that never would have occurred to her. After all those desperate months on her own, Jessica knew better than to throw away good food. “So, what have you been up to lately?” Peter asked as he shredded the crust and fed it to the birds. 

“Oh, you know,” Jessica said breezily, “fighting crime, grinding poverty, blah, blah.” Was that a wince from Peter? It wasn’t his fault some amoral scientists had cooked her up in their lab or that she’d chosen to go her own way after. Leave it to Peter to find a way to feel guilty about it. “I have this courier job,” Jessica assured him. “Pay’s not great, but it keeps me off the street. You?” 

Peter helped himself to another slice. “I lost my job at the Bugle. Now I’m stuck in mall food court hell with crazy customers and this stupid little hat.” He held the pizza of over his head to demonstrate. This time it was Jessica's turn to wince. She hoped it didn't look _that_ stupid. 

“Man, that sucks,” Jessica commiserated around a mouthful of food. She’d loved that job. Yeah, Mr. Jamison had been a jerk, but she’d really learned a lot working with Ben Ulrich and the others. Plus, between the flexible hours and the access to information about breaking emergencies, it had been the perfect job for a superhero.

“Gotta pay for college somehow,” Peter said with a shrug and got back to eating his 'hat'.

Jessica's hands curled into fists and she had to look away. Hello, resentment. Long time, no see, but oh, how I’ve missed you. She _wished_ she had to worry about paying for college, but people without pasts didn’t get to have futures. “How is everyone?” Jessica asked, heading Peter off before he could start talking about studying for his SATs and where he was applying. 

“Good. Ah, Gwen’s back from the dead…again.” Peter smiled wryly in the face of her shock. “Yeah, not words I thought I’d say, but I have a lady-clone, so…” he trailed off with a shrug. It was a good point. Honestly, Jessica didn’t know why she was so surprised. Their lives were nuts. 

“Anyway, she’s living with us.” Peter took a long slurp of his soda. “Johnny Storm and Bobby Drake too. It’s crowded and crazy, but this is the happiest Aunt May’s been since Uncle Ben died.” 

“Iceman and the Human Torch are living with you?” Jessica asked incredulously. Peter had been so afraid to tell Aunt May that he was Spider-man and now the woman was so okay with it she was running a flophouse for teenage superheroes. “Got room for one more?” Jessica asked only half joking. 

“I…um…” Peter frowned thoughtfully. “I guess you could bunk Gwen or on the couch or something.”

God, it was so tempting to go home with him. Sometimes she missed Aunt May and her friends like a physical pain. Heck, sometimes she found herself fondly recalling _Flash Thompson_ and she hated that guy. The problem was, she wouldn’t be going home if she went with Peter. Not to her home anyway. The people in his life weren’t her family or her friends. Jessica would just be a stranger to them. She winced away from the idea. Better to be a stranger from a distance than to have it rubbed in her face. “You know I was joking, right?” She hoped her smile looked more convincing than it felt. 

“Yeah,” Peter drawled sarcastically, tossing his crust back in the box. Jessica snatched it before he could waste it on the birds. When she bit down, her teeth marks were indistinguishable from his. There was something in Peter's expression as he watched her eat that looked annoyingly like pity. Of course he’d see right through her: they were practically the same person.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Orphans" by Gaslight Anthem.


End file.
